Gahanna leaders expecting clean financial audit

The state auditor's office annually examines the city's finances to make sure financial statements are accurate and give a true and fair view of the city's revenues and expenses.

City finance director Jennifer Teal recently told council the city's financial audit for 2012 has been completed by state Auditor Dave Yost's office.

"The city is on track to receive an unqualified, or clean, opinion, which means there were no findings of reportable weaknesses or misstatements that would indicate fraud or mismanagement," she said.

The auditors have identified one concern in a management letter, which has been addressed for 2013 and won't occur in the future, according to Teal.

The auditors found one interfund transfer -- the annual stormwater $20,000 transfer from the general fund -- that was appropriated by council but not separately approved by council in an annual transfer ordinance.

"Its exclusion was a pure oversight," Teal said. "Finance has a process for annually authorizing fund transfers, but that one was inadvertently left off. Finance has added a control to that process to ensure that this oversight does not take place in the future."

Teal said council has the opportunity to receive a post-audit conference, but members waived that option.

Council member Ryan Jolley asked Teal how much money the city saved by bringing the audit in house.

She said the city saved about $13,000 by having deputy finance director Joann Bury manage the audit.

"I'm over the moon," Teal said. "We dealt with the one item. It wasn't any indicator of inappropriate activity, simply an oversight. It was forgetting to put a line on a form."

The official audit is expected to be released soon and will be available online at gahanna.gov.